Independent ACA: Oh, really?

 Accountability  19 Responses »
Apr 222008
 

I hate to pour cold water on the euphoria over the announcement of an independent ACA. But what else can you think when you read between the lines of the following NST/Bernama report? Notice that what will be independent is the Advisory Board to the ACA. So the board can only advise the ACA, but presumably the ACA is free to reject the “advice”. It would only be in terms of recruitment etc. But who is ultimately responsible for the ACA then? The Parliamentary Committee? No way, Jose! “There’s always a minister, anywhere in the world, responsible for any institution set up. And I will be responsible for the institution,” said the PM. So how is that different from before, when the ACA was answerable to the PM? Is he just playing with words again – similar to his apology to the 1988 judicial crisis judges that wasn’t an apology [Read more]

Watch out! They are still talking about monorail and Porr

 Malaysian finance/business, Public transport  28 Responses »
Apr 212008
 

Let’s face it. An underground rail system would be too expensive for Penang and, with 700,000 people on the island, it is doubtful if Penang has the passenger loads to justify such a heavy investment. They say a subway system would cost many times what a monorail would. But even a 35-km monorail network would cost RM3.5 billion! I don’t see many cities using a monorail system as an effective people mover. (More often it is a tourist gimmick.) And even fewer heritage cities opt for monorails. KL is not exactly a shining advertisement for an efficient monorail system, is it? Remember how it had to be bailed out? Can you imagine how those ugly pillars will mar the heritage backdrop of George Town. It is for that reason that the city of Milan opted for trams rather than monorail. And the Penang Outer (or is that “Outta”?) Ring Road [Read more]

An impassioned plea to save the environment from a 12-year-old

 Corporate agenda, Development issues, Environment, Marginalised groups, Poverty  3 Responses »
Apr 202008
 

Severn Cullis-Suzuki, then 12, addresses the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro in 1992: To all those greedy and wasteful people (and their corporations) who are destroying the environment, think of your children and your families and what kind of world you will leave behind for them. Who is she? According to Wikipedia: Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born 1979) is an environmental activist, speaker, television host and author. Born to writer Tara Elizabeth Cullis and Canadian geneticist and environmental activist David Suzuki, Cullis-Suzuki received a B.Sc. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University in 2002. She has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind, and take individual responsibility. In 1992, at the age of 12, Cullis-Suzuki raised money with members of ECO, the Environmental Childrens Organization (a group she founded) to attend the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro. [Read more]

5 state govts back call to free ISA detainees, Guan Eng tells Makkal Sakthi crowd

 Civil society, Human rights, M'sian politics, Marginalised groups  35 Responses »
Apr 192008
 
5 state govts back call to free ISA detainees, Guan Eng tells Makkal Sakthi crowd

No letting up: Some 3,000 Makkal Sakthi and Hindraf supporters call for release of ISA detainees For one moment, it looked as if the general election campaign was not yet over. The orange shirts were back in numbers. A similar crowd had packed the Penang Chinese Town Hall in the run-up to the general election. Makkal Sakthi is still alive and kicking – and the newfound sense of solidarity has not abated one bit. But how was Hindraf, the organiser, able to get a permit so easily for this gathering? Well, I suppose it helps if your star speaker is the Penang Chief Minister! Not that permits should be required for such gatherings. A couple of uniformed cops sat in the audience, a couple more outside the hall. Syed Ibrahim, the coordinator of the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI), gave a run-down on why the ISA had to be abolished. Also [Read more]

Powerful corporate interests penetrate Penang local councils

 Accountability, Civil society, Democracy, Development issues, Environment, Human rights, M'sian politics, Malaysian elections  24 Responses »
Apr 192008
 

Just got a text message from an unhappy political scientist friend, who forwarded to me an sms that he had sent to a DAP rep in Penang: People not happy with councillors appoint & list. old wine in new bottle. expect you guys to deliver your promises during election. Also received another email from a concerned Penangite. Interesting that he also describes it as “old wine in new bottle”: now that the MPPP & MPSP councillors lists are out, I’m sure many of us are NOT happy — personally I think it is just old wine in new bottle, especially treating the political appointments as consolation for those left out in the election and also having the ADUNs doubling up as councillors as well. isn’t it time the civil society rise up once again to make our displeasure and disappontment heard by the new state gov, to let them know [Read more]

Page 2 of 512345